Welcome to Harmony Hills Family Ministry Podcast. It's our hope that as you join us in these conversations, you'll feel excited and encouraged to pursue discipleship in your own home. I'm your host, Tracy Hall, and today I have the pleasure of talking with Miss Roberta Smith about the legacy of prayer.
So, Miss Roberta, will you just kick us off by telling us a little bit about yourself? >> Well, I was born at a young age. Um, prayer in my life has been a very big part since I was a little kid.
I had kind of a rough, um, childhood, and so I could tuck in bed and pray to my heavenly father and feel comforted and strength and find direction even as a small child. So, um, it's been a tool that I've had to make it through life my whole life, and I'm grateful for it. >> Yeah, that's amazing.
Uh, how many kids do you have? >> Three kids, all grown up. They have kids all grown up, and, um, so I've got seven grandchildren and four great-grands.
>> Okay. That's a lot of children to keep up with. >> Yes.
>> Very cool. Um, all right. So, you say that prayer was comforting for you as a child.
>> Yes. >> Uh, what else about prayer, like, comes to your mind when you think about your childhood? >> Well, I grew up [in] started cradle roll, Sunbeams, the whole thing all the way through church training, um, Pioneer Girls.
>> Mm-hmm. >> And so mostly I learned to pray by models—the people in my church, in my household. >> Okay.
>> And my dad used to be a preacher, and he preached long prayers. >> Oh, yeah. I have been around some of those before.
>> Yes. >> That's pretty cool. So, you've had, uh, lots of examples of prayer.
>> Yes. >> From your—your dad? >> Yes.
And my mother. >> Yeah. Your mom.
Sunday school teachers, things like that. >> Very cool. Um, what did—what did your prayer actually look like as a child?
I know you said you would kind of hide away and be comforted in your prayers, but, like, what were you saying when you were a child? >> Probably the same thing my dad did. >> Yeah.
But, um, we were taught very formal prayers—not repeating prayers we learned, but to pray very reverently—and so, um, I would use kind of big words that I—I really did understand because I had a good Christian education, but, um, as I got older, the words got less big [and] fancy and more personal. >> Okay. So in the beginning, it started out as modeling, maybe using a template that your dad had prayed, and then it became more personal the more familiar you got with it, and the more comfortable I got talking to the Lord.
Then there was a period, um, I think it was probably late pre-teen and early teen, where we were being taught a lot about Jesus being our joint heirs and he's our brother, and I started relating more to Jesus that way. And then the Father was who we were praying to, but I'd feel like, "Jesus, I need your help right now," you know, that kind of thing. >> Yeah.
So then you kind of continuously prayed or kind of stayed in the posture of prayer because you saw Jesus more as a brother? >> Right. Right.
Alongside, right then. And we—I was not as familiar with the Holy Spirit. That wasn't as much, um, brought up in my Christian education, but Jesus was right there.
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> That's cool.
So that's probably shaped a lot—a lot of your prayer life. >> Cool. Um, all right.
So, thinking back to different seasons of your life, we all have hard seasons, we all have easy seasons. Uh, can you tell me just a little bit about maybe, like, praying through a hard season and then also praying through an easy season? What did that look like?
>> One of the hardest seasons that I ever had was when I know that I know that I know that I know God told me to do one thing or another, and then it didn't turn out like I thought he was telling me to do it. And I felt like I didn't know if I failed, if I didn't hear him correctly, if I didn't know what happened, and I felt just kind of stunned. And it was hard to keep praying at that time because I didn't trust myself.
>> Yeah. >> And then later it kind of came to me that maybe the outcome was what he wanted after all. It just wasn't what I wanted.
And that that was a big deal. And one of the times was, um, my dad, um, had had a serious stroke, and he'd been in a wheelchair for a long time. And I felt like the Lord told me to ask for more than just comfort, to ask for healing for him.
>> So I did, and he died. >> And I thought, "That isn't it. " Yeah.
>> And I felt like really like I had betrayed either God or my dad, but I didn't know which. And then it was hard for a while. >> Yeah.
>> But he didn't let me go too far, and didn't—he didn't leave me alone too long. >> That's good. How did you push through that—of, like, thinking that you had failed in your prayers, and that maybe—were you angry at God a little bit for— >> No, I was angry with me.
>> Angry with yourself. Okay. So, how did you push through and get back into a posture of— >> searching the scriptures?
>> Okay. >> Searching the scriptures, looking for verses, looking at, um, characters in the Bible—and all of them basically had that experience where it didn't turn out like they expected. Um, one of the main ones was David wanted to build the temple.
And there's nothing wrong with him wanting to build the temple except it wasn't God's idea. >> Yeah. And this one I felt like it was God's idea, but the outcome wasn't what I expected.
It was what he did. >> Yeah. And your dad was healed ultimately.
>> Ultimately. Yeah. >> The grand healing.
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Gotcha.
You know, I've had—I've had seasons where I'm praying and I feel like the Lord's saying, "Pray this one specific thing," and, um, then I get to the end of it and I'm like, "Well, that is not at all what I thought where I thought we were headed," but okay. You know, and it ends up being better than I ever thought it— >> it always does. Yeah.
>> Always. And I think that's the thing. We don't see the grand plan.
We just see the steps. And as long as we stay in the steps, we're in his will. >> Yeah.
For sure. >> Yeah. >> Just stay obedient.
>> But I want to mention, um, I thought about this earlier. When I was a young mom, my kids were quite young. There was this little old lady at church.
She's probably my age, but she used to call me and say, "Would you come down and pray with me today? " And I would think, "I have 14 million things to do. " But I would go down and sit with her for a while.
And we would pray and just pray. We didn't really talk about anything else. And then she would always end it with, "Lord, please restore the time that Roberta gave me today to her so she can get everything done she needs to do.
" And I always really appreciated that. And I think she really was a good mentor in learning to pray. >> Yeah.
>> And really putting God first over the to-do list. >> Yeah. That's really sweet that you gave up that time, too.
How did—how did you see that prayer answered of your time being restored? >> Always. I got everything done.
It was fine. >> Yeah. It worked out.
>> It was fine. And if they didn't get it done, it didn't need done. >> Yeah.
How does that affect you now? The thinking, like, "Well, I can stop and pray. " Does that— >> Well, you might want to edit this out.
>> It's okay. >> I always pray two or three hours every morning— >> at a time in a block. >> In a block.
>> Wow. >> Yeah. So, that just comes first.
There isn't anything else first. >> Yeah. >> So, and that's been that way for 25 years.
>> Wow. So, I'm gonna ask all kinds of questions about this because I want to know—what time do you wake up to start praying? >> I get up early.
Okay. >> And I usually get things started, like I throw in a load of wash or something, and then I just go to my table and get out my things and read my Bible and do that research and follow up on every little word in my verses. And then, um, and that's kind of becomes a conversation with God about his word.
>> Okay. And then, um, I've got a calendar with my prayer list. I—I pray for a lot of different people, but not anybody every day.
So, um, I have a calendar that they're all written out. And I always ask the Holy Spirit to help me make out my calendar for who I should pray for when. And it is so uncanny how many times I will hear from the person on that list the night before, "I need prayer for this.
" Yeah, you know, so it's just uncanny how much that that does happen. >> And then, um, for urgence—there are some people that have really urgent needs and I have a list of those, too. >> Okay.
>> So— >> so you wake up early, get your day going a little bit, spend time in the word, let the Holy Spirit lead you, and then you're just praying through these list of people that he's given you. >> I write it in a journal. Takes a long time.
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> That's okay.
>> So, do you tell people that you're praying for them? Do you ask, or do you just— >> almost always I either ask them or they ask me. >> Okay.
>> Um, almost always. >> Gotcha. So then— >> and then, of course, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
I've got seven grandkids. They know they— >> Oh, yeah. >> And I got—I've got—Yeah.
My family and—Yeah. So they each get a day and each get verses. >> That's sweet.
Do you share that with them? >> You do. I love that so much.
>> Um— >> I'll say, "It's Friday. It's your day. What do you want me to pray for you?
" >> Yeah. >> And they'll text me back. >> That's so sweet.
Um, so then how do you know when your time of prayer is over? You said three or four hours. So I mean, you're just like— >> two or three hours.
>> Two or three hours. Okay. >> Two or three hours.
Do you just go, like, "Okay, it's 8:00. I got to get up and get going," or— >> um, if I have appointments or something, which that does happen, but normally it's just sort of, "Talk to you in a little while, Lord. You know, we're done for right now, but come back.
" >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> What has been the fruit of that making of making that time investment to pray that long every morning?
>> It defines who I am. I cannot imagine a day without it. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah. But, um, and I've often say, I don't know why the Lord answers my prayers, but he does. >> Yeah.
>> And I really don't know why, but I've seen marriages restored after they were already divorced. I've seen people healed. I've seen people get jobs.
Um, seen people's bosses transferred. >> Yeah. >> Things like—one of my funny stories is, um, of a—a friend who was an attorney for Long's Drgstore in Hawaii when we were there on the mission field.
He was—he's telling me how awful his boss was. He just made his life miserable. I said, "Well, let's pray the Lord does something there.
" And so I don't know if you're going to move or he's going to move. He goes, "That's not possible. It won't happen.
" Two days later, the boss moved to Montana. >> Did you say, "You're welcome? " >> I said, "Oh, glory to God.
" >> Yeah. Yeah. >> God is faithful.
>> That is so— >> And it came out of nowhere. >> Yeah. You know, I think I have a few stories of prayer.
Not many, um, or as many as I would like to have, but I think about how I've prayed for friends in the past. And one time I was praying for a friend who told me that she was in the middle of, like, her fifth miscarriage. And I, at the time, I had a newborn at home, and I remember just praying, like, "Lord, I don't know why you're putting her through this.
" And I know that she wishes she was—is exhausted as I am right now because she had a newborn to take care of. And I just felt the Lord say, "She thinks she's going through a miscarriage. That baby is still there.
" And I thought, "Okay, restore it," like, bring the heartbeat back, Lord. And then two hours later, she texts me, and she said, "I went to the hospital and they found a heartbeat. " And—I mean, that little boy is thriving now.
>> Yeah. >> So, it's so— >> The Lord knows where we are. >> Yes.
And he hears us. He does. >> And he allows us to be a part of the story.
>> And I believe that's so that he gets the glory. >> Yes. >> Because if you didn't hear that, you wouldn't realize the way God had intervened.
>> Exactly. >> So, it gives him the glory. Yeah, definitely.
Yeah, I'm just honored that I get to be a part of it sometimes. >> That's how I feel. >> Yeah.
>> I'm glad to be a spectator. >> For sure. For sure.
>> What about, um, easy seasons? I know many people go through hard seasons and they're like, "Oh, yeah. I can cling to God during this hard season.
" But during easy seasons, how do you—how do you pray? And does it change your prayers? >> It does.
It's easy to get bored in easy seasons. You know, I've prayed this for 20 years and I'm done now. >> Yeah.
>> And that kind of thing. Um, but that's the time I use more worship music. I always have worship music on with during my prayer time.
And a lot of times those are my prayers that day entirely. Just worship music, just singing along with them and dancing around my dining room. >> I love that.
That's so cool. So it turns into more like praise that I'm in a good season right now. Okay.
Very cool. Um, all right. Is there something that you understand about prayer now as you're older that you wish that you had understood when you were younger?
>> The biggest thing I think—it's so much less about me and my needs and more about God's glory and applying his word in our world today. >> Um, okay. How do you—like, what do you mean?
>> When in my working years, when I had a lot of different contacts and that kind of thing, it was really easy to focus on the specific needs of different people. Mm-hmm. And now it's far more praying for, like, the elections, for morality, for, um, my—God, several neighbors.
And a lot of times those are the biggest issues that I'm looking at—building his church more than the specific needs of somebody's, um, sore throat or something. Yeah. >> Yeah.
Okay, that's cool. Um, all right. So, then let's go back to you praying for your children and your grandchildren.
You write it out on a calendar. They have a day. They know it's coming.
What do they call you? >> Grandma. >> Grandma.
They know grandma's going to text and say, "How can I pray for you? " Um, but other than their specific prayer request, what are you asking God for for them? Or how are you interceding on their behalf?
>> Well, um, for instance, this one boy, Judah is his name. His name means, um, "praise God," but he married someone who doesn't. And so, she is—I think of the wives of Solomon, how they pulled him away.
And she does that, too. I—I love her. She's a nice person, but she's really not a believer, and she's really not interested, and she doesn't want their little boy to be involved either.
So for him, I pray that—as the deer pants for streams of water, his heart will pant for Jesus. And he was walking with the Lord very strongly before they got married. And I'm praying that—that specifically for him, that that would be his—his goal.
Um, I have one that has anxiety, and she really struggles with it. So, for her, um, I pray—it's Psalm 32:7. I have it written down that she'll find her shelter in her comforting place in the Lord and that she won't be fearful.
And she is—she just came to visit a couple weeks ago, and she hasn't had any anxiety for a couple years now. So— >> Oh, wow. >> So, the Lord is answering that.
>> Yeah. Yeah. And he's her hiding place.
So, yeah, that's good. >> And then a couple of them, um—one of them has depression, and he's a fine young man, but he's—he just has—it's something genetic with him. He's had it even as a small child.
And for him, I pray, um, Psalm 40—that the Lord inclines to him and he takes him out of the miry clay and establishes him on the rock. So, one of the ladies here at church helped me make a poster for him with that verse and his picture on it, and he hangs it on his wall, and he reads it, and—and he's doing so well. >> Yeah.
>> So, I'm really happy for him. >> That's great. >> Yeah.
What an amazing legacy of prayer that you're leaving, but also, like, setting them up for the future, too, just to pour in—pour into them through prayer and reading scripture over them. >> And it helps them to understand the scripture is not just something to read. It's something to invest yourself in as well.
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Um, what do you hope that they learn about God through your prayers?
>> That he's right there listening, that they can cast their cares on him, that he has a good plan for them, that his plan is for life and joy and peace. Even in the bumpy places, he's still going to take—carry them through. >> Yeah.
Um, so as a prayer warrior, how have you learned to pray for the people God has placed in your life, such as your pastors, your friends, um, pastor, your family, right? And what have you learned about the privilege of carrying someone else before the Lord? >> That's complicated.
Um, it is definitely a privilege to pray for someone that they will open their heart to you and—and tell you their needs. One of the best things that I've learned is that I can stand by and watch God work. I don't have to advise them.
I don't have to help them other than be there with them and pray together. And a lot of times they don't want to pray together. They want me to pray by myself, you know.
But if that's okay, too. But one of the things I do is, like, in restaurants, um, ask the server what I can pray for them. And it's so funny because I get the same servers, and they'll come back and tell me what God did.
>> Oh, wow. >> And I just had one last week. His name is Oscar.
Mm-hmm. And when we came in, he—go—I said, "Oh, I remember you. " And he said, "Yeah, you prayed for me, and I got the job.
" >> Oh, wow. >> Yeah. So, that was great.
But like for the pastors, I pray—and they're on my Thursday list. So, I pray for them, um, for unity and for purpose and direction. I pray that they'll clearly hear the Lord and for a hedge of protection around them because they're big targets for enemy dar—darts.
Arrows. Darts. Yeah, they're—they're big targets, and we've got such a wonderful church going.
We just can't afford for someone to come in and to be destructive or anything like that. So that they'll have wisdom and—and discernment—and they're doing great. >> Yeah, they are.
>> So, I just—I had a question pop in my mind. It's not one I've prepared you for, right? >> Um— >> but I—I mean, as you're talking about the ways that you're praying for pastors and your family, um, somebody listening might think, "Well, I don't pray like that, so am I hurting somebody by not praying for them?
" Do you think that there's any effect of people not praying? >> There's a scripture that is in the, um, the handout that we're going to be working at on week three that says—it's from, um, 1 Chronicles, I believe. "I will not sin against God by failing to pray for you.
" And that doesn't mean that you're required to pray for everybody you ever met or anything, but the Holy Spirit does stir your heart that this person needs prayer and I'm the one. And when that happens, I think you're not hurting them, but you're losing the opportunity, the blessing of praying for them. But on the other hand, um, everyone has different gifts, and maybe your gift is giving, and you can help them by giving them something that they need, or maybe your gift is encouragement.
So you can give them a good word, you know. So whatever your spiritual gift is, that's what you should do. >> Yeah.
So maybe more follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit. >> Exactly. >> That we're learning about.
>> Exactly. Uh, and do what he tells you to do. >> Exactly.
>> Yeah. Okay. You know, a few years ago, we were, uh, getting ready for D-Now weekend, you know, I work with students, and, um—I mean, I was just running around everywhere, and I just remember—and we were praying for you.
>> Thank you. I appreciate it. Um, but I remember having this thought of, "I just wish that I knew that someone was praying for me.
" And 10 seconds later, I get a text from a friend who said, "Hey, how can I pray for you right now? " >> Yes. >> And I was—I said, "You're not going to believe this, but I literally just had a thought.
I didn't even pray it. I just had a thought of, 'I wish I knew—'" >> But he hears your thoughts. >> He does.
And she said, "How miraculous it is that we are so connected by the Holy Spirit that when one person utters a request, the other one can fulfill it. " Mm-hmm. And I think to your point, it's when we ignore those promptings of the Holy Spirit that's what we miss out on.
>> We miss—Yeah. We miss the blessing. >> Yeah.
>> Because mostly what we're doing when we pray is aligning ourselves with God, and then he gets the glory, but we get a blessing in that we can see it happening. >> Yeah. >> And we can even be encouraged to continue.
>> Yeah. It's how we get to play a part in all of this. He doesn't need us, but— >> Exactly.
He wants to involve us. So— >> And I've often wondered, you know, how sometimes you wake up at night with somebody on your heart, and you know you need to pray for him right now. I've often wondered why he does that—because he doesn't need us—but then the next morning you find out they needed the prayer.
>> Yes. Yeah. You know, as a person who has received a lot of texts from people saying, "You were on my mind, and I—I prayed for you," getting that from them—it's—it's not that they prayed for me, but it's like, "Oh, wait, hold on.
God was talking about me with someone else. " >> Exactly. >> And now we're connected, and they stood in the gap for me.
>> Exactly. >> And it helps me to feel not so alone in whatever I'm struggling with. >> Exactly.
It reminds me of the verse—I—he sees you, you know, he knows what's going on. Yeah. >> And he sends skin.
>> Yes. >> Somebody with skin on. >> He does.
Yes. Over and over. That's sweet.
Well, I've really enjoyed our time together. >> I want to say one more thing that came to mind. One of the questions was, "How do you teach children to pray?
" And I've always had this thing against—"Now I lay me down to sleep" or "God is good, God is great. " I mean, you know—but, um, one of the things that I did—I didn't ever do, but I wish I had. I hadn't even thought of it.
But the children learn "high-low" really early. "What was your high today? What was your low today?
" Right? So you can take that and say, "Well, let's bring it to God. Your high—let's thank him for that.
What a good thing. And what was your low? Well, maybe he's—maybe we need to ask God how he wants you to respond to that.
What do you think God wants? " Yeah. And take their experiences and apply it to—and that will teach them to pray and seek him for that.
And then another thing I thought of was making a—a bulletin board or a blackboard or something and have them write out four requests. One for a need, one for a praise, one for a verse, and one for a thanks item. That's five, huh?
And, um, then let's see what God does. >> Yeah, I love that. >> Let's just try it.
See what God does. Yeah. >> And they can pick a favorite verse, you know, they've been learning verses, and if none other fails, you know, um, you can do John 3:16, but you could do any verse that would apply to a young life, and then have them see what God does with it in their prayer life.
And I think even a three or four-year-old would pick up on that. >> For sure. Yeah.
I love that. Um, okay. Well, I wish that I had a hundred more questions because I think I could sit and talk with you all day.
Maybe we'll have you back for another episode one day soon. Um, but is there anything else you have left to say, or, uh, if you have any encouragement for somebody who maybe is older and they—they're like, "Well, I don't pray for my kids and grandkids. " Can you give them an encouragement for how to start?
>> Back to that little line. Just figure out one thing you would wish for that child to have with the Lord, whether it's relationship or it's confession or maybe what they need is encouragement, you know, and just pray that one thing for them once a week, and then see what God does. That also put a thanks item there for who he's created him to be, for the gifts they have, for the personality—this person that you love—and just turn it into thanks and see what God does.
>> Yeah, I love that. >> And you might not see it in your lifetime, but your prayers go on. >> They do.
That is true. Yep. All right.
Well, thank you so much for talking with me today. >> Thanks for inviting me. Prayer is my subject.
>> Yes, I love it. All right, and thank you for joining us for this episode. Please like, share, and subscribe, and we'll see you next time.
